Witnesses said the army and police deployed armoured vehicles to the Imbaba suburb of Cairo after some 500 Islamist Salafists surrounded a Coptic Church, demanding those in the church hand over the woman to them. Details were sketchy.

The Salafists -- conservative Islamists -- and Christians exchanged
gunfire and threw firebombs and stones at each other before the army and
police arrived. Security forces fired tear gas to stop the clashes.

The governor of Giza province told journalists at least one person died and 23 were wounded.

Egypt state television put the death toll at about five.

Interfaith relationships often cause tension in Egypt, where Christians make up about 10 percent of its 80 million people.

Christians complain about unfair treatment, including rules they say make it easier to build a mosque than a church.

Last year Egypt saw more than its usual share of sectarian strife, and a
rights groups has said such clashes have been on the rise. Muslims and
Christians had been brought together during the protests that ousted
Mubarak